La Clique's 20th anniversary show at Adelaide Cabaret Festival brings back the magic of circus

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The ultimate variety cabaret meets circus show, La Clique, is still celebrating its 20^th anniversary, this time at Adelaide Cabaret Festival! It’s not hard to see why the show is still going strong 20 years on. With a talented cast of veterans and newcomers, La Clique’s 20^th anniversary show is everything you want in an adult circus: incredibly skilled performers, some sexiness and cheekiness, moments of beauty and plenty of laughs and awe-inspiring feats.

La Clique 20th anniversary show at Adelaide Cabaret Festival — Photo: Claudio Raschella

La Clique may be an Aussie-born show, but they’ve toured the world, won the prestigious Olivier award in the UK and are comprised of an international cast. La Clique’s 20th anniversary line-up at Adelaide Cabaret Festival includes Spain’s contortionist and aerialist David Pereira, American sword-swallower and fire performer Heather Holliday, Canadian aerialist Tuedon Airiri, and Quebec’s extraordinary puppet duo Cabaret Décadanse. They’re joined by London-based aerialist LJ Marles, British provocateur Ursula Martinez, and Aussie talents Tara Boom and Byron Hutton.

Tuedon Airiri, who trained at the École Nationale de Cirque in Montreal, stunned and amused with her bath act which opens La Clique’s 20^th anniversary show. Originally created as an homage to David O’Mer’s infamous Bath Boy act—which you may have seen in La Clique or the original LIMBO show—Tuedon puts her own twist on it. She shifts the focus away from bathtub-edge acrobatics and toward more aerial work, while adding splashes of humour (and water), flicking droplets at the audience with her hair and feet. There’s even a splash zone: front-row audience members are given long plastic banners to protect themselves, which only adds to the fun.

It was a true delight to see Quebec’s Cabaret Décadanse back on Australian shores with their incredible life-sized puppets performing songs throughout the show. Their lip-syncing and fluid body movements perfectly match the music. Each puppet has its own distinct personality—from Disco Diva Slinky to smooth-voiced crooner Kiko and even Alma, the burlesque artist. These are no ordinary puppets, nor any ordinary puppeteers.

Heather Holliday, who we haven’t seen since the original LIMBO at Sydney Festival in 2014, is always a crowd favourite, delighting and unnerving as she nonchalantly swallows swords and dances with fire.

Tara Boom's Umbrella actPhoto: Claudio Raschella — Tara Boom’s Umbrella act
Photo: Claudio Raschella

What’s striking is how music and tempo completely change the feel of each act. Doing aerial to a slow hauntingly beautiful song like Jeff Buckley’s Lilac Wine or opera transforms it. Tara Booms’s umbrella act is mesmerising and performed to a slowed down version of Rihanna’s Umbrella. Byron Hutton’s pin juggling to yMusic’s instrumental Eleven also took us to a different plane. The interplay between smooth and jarring sections in the music somehow, surprisingly, added to the beauty of the act.

Even though La Clique’s 20^th anniversary show has three aerials acts within its 75 minutes, each act brings a distinct mood and style, keeping the audience engaged. David Pereira’s red silks performed to a dramatic opera is in complete contrast to LJ Marles’ elastics aerial performed to Lady Gaga’s Applause while wearing thigh high stiletto boots. And both of those are completely different to Tuedon Airiri’s opening bath girl act.

As Adelaide Cabaret Festival marks its 25th year, La Clique celebrates its 20th anniversary—and both are still setting the bar for unforgettable nights out. With its bold blend of world-class circus, cabaret flair, and moments of cheeky humour, La Clique at Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2025 proves this style of entertainment never gets old.